A chance at true Courage
by Tai Kamiya1
Summary: Tai is mortally wounded during what should have been a routine visit to the Digital World. When the Digimon Emperor returns temporarily to give Tai a chance to change his life, will he take it, or are the consequences too dire to handle? A Taiora.


Me: I don't own Digimon

Me: I don't own Digimon. This is a Taiora, mainly. 

Tai: (gasps) A w-w-what? (passes out)

Sora: Tai! (runs to his side) Are you okay?

Tai: (wakes) Yeah, I'm all right. 

Me: This story was inspired by an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. 

Tai: Darn those Paramount people…curse their good ideas! 

Me: Hush! Or I'll make the story Taito.

Tai: (passes out again)

Sora: Tai! (runs to him again) Quit doing that! I'm the only one who can tease him like this.

Tai: (wakes again) Yeah, so cut it out! 

Me: And people wonder why you two shouldn't be a couple. You both certainly act like one…(Tai and Sora turn and glare in my direction) I'll shut up now.

****

Digimon

A chance at true Courage

"DIGIPORT, OPEN!" 

The DigiDestined made it through the computer and back to the Real World-but is it in time to save a life? The elder members of the team ran in to see their closest friend on Death's Row. Sora was the most worried, next to Kari. 

"What happened to him?" 

"We were ambushed by BlackWarGreymon outside of Primary Village. Tai was willing to take him on, even though Agumon hadn't Warp-Digivolved. He took a set of his claws straight to the heart." 

"Damn! He's going into cardiac arrest! His heart's not responding!" 

"Tai, don't you leave me! I still haven't told you how I feel…"

__

Taichi "Tai" Kamiya found himself in a bright room of white light. He was still in his school uniform but had his blue headband on around his head. 

"Where am I? Where's Davis and Kari? What happened to Agumon?" 

__

That's when he heard the one voice he thought had turned good. 

"Welcome to the afterlife, DigiDestined. You're dead." 

Tai gaped in shock. "Yeah right!" 

"Trust me; you're dead, and I'm God." 

Tai found that he could laugh. "You're not God!" 

The Digimon Emperor stood in his flowing cape and blue suit. "Why ever don't you believe me?" 

"Because if you were God-which you aren't-then this would be Hell. My idea of Heaven would include someone who I care for very deeply." 

The Emperor smirked in response. "Would this person have a name?" 

Tai stood firm. "Yes…but I'm not telling you! You're just a carbon copy of someone who I've come to trust. The evil side, actually. How did I die, anyway?" 

"Simple: BlackWarGreymon ambushed you and your friends outside of Primary Village. Your Digimon hadn't eaten, so he couldn't Warp-Digivolve. You took a stand and went to protect your friends-"

"-And he sent his claws straight through my heart. That's the last thing I remember." Tai dropped to his knees. The Digimon Emperor bent down to his knees and his smirk grew wider. 

"You're lying. There's one last thing you remember before coming here, isn't there?" 

__

Tai nodded. "I remember someone crying out, 'Don't you leave me! I still haven't told you how I feel…'"

"Correct! Do you know who that someone was?" 

Tai felt a blush creeping on his cheeks. "Yes. I'm still not telling you!" 

The Emperor suddenly appeared next to Tai's ear. "That wasn't your heart that was stabbed by the Digimon, was it?" 

The blush faded, but Tai shook his head. "It wasn't. I lost that heart about a month or so before I first went to the Digital World with my friends." 

That's when it appeared: The incident that caused Tai to lose his heart replayed before his eyes. He saw his younger self-taking on some robbers; he knew it was his younger self because that version wore the goggles. A young girl appeared by his side wearing a blue hat. Tai gasped in shock. "Sora…"

__

The two best friends took on the robbers together until one of them pulled out a gun and aimed it at Sora. Young Tai saw it and instantly positioned himself between the gun and Sora. 

"SORA! LOOK OUT!" 

BLAM! Young Tai gasped out as the bullet pierced his heart. The police finally came in but the damage had been done. Young Sora held Tai as tears streamed down her face. 

"Tai! Please speak to me! Don't leave me…" 

Tai turned away but it still rang through his ears, especially when he heard Sora's cry. 

"Somebody help me! My best friend needs a doctor, please! Please help me…" 

The Digimon Emperor stood next to Tai. "What happened after that?" 

Tears came to Tai's eyes as he struggled to hide them. "Joe's dad came up and instantly treated me. He got the bullet out with help from Joe-who knew he'd had a part in saving me? They had an extra heart so they did a simple transplant right there in the bank. If it wasn't for the fact that Joe's Dad needed to get some cash out of the bank, I would have died in her arms instead of-"

"Dying by her side over four years later?" 

"Yeah! I was too irrational in those days. It was before my trip to the DigiWorld. I didn't have the experience then like I do now. If I could do it all over again…it would be different." 

Tai suddenly found himself in his soccer uniform and his trademark goggles. _"What the heck's going on here?" _

"Come on, Tai! We're going to be late for the game." 

Tai turned to see a younger Sora Takenouchi running toward him. Age eleven, he guessed. 

"Sora, what happened to you? Where are we?" 

The younger girl giggled. She obviously thought Tai was kidding. "Silly Tai! It's our Championship game, remember?" 

That's when it came back to him. "Yeah! Our Championship game. I'll be there in a minute." 

"Okay. See you there." The look on her face showed disappointment as she ran off. Tai sighed sadly. 

"What's this I see? Regret, DigiDestined?" 

"I wanted to surprise her with a bouquet of roses but the stupid flower truck didn't get there until the game almost ended! I made it there with time to spare but it almost cost us the game." Tai actually glared at the Digimon Emperor as he ran toward the spot where the flower truck stalled and made it there. 

"Hello? Do you have a bouquet of roses to Takenouchi from Kamiya?" 

The delivery guy stuck his head out of the hood of the truck. "Yeah, in the back."   
"Great! Here's the money, see you later." 

Tai ran around to the back, found the bouquet, grabbed them and ran off for the field.

Tai and the Emperor ran on the soccer field, oblivious to everyone else.   
"Sora! Where are you?" That's when Tai heard his coach.

"Kamiya, if those are for Takenouchi then leave them on the bench and get back on the field!" Tai gasped as he avoided the soccer ball, dived toward the bench, put the bouquet in his bag and managed to steal the ball from his opponent and score the winning goal.

"I DID IT! WE WON!" Tai cried out as Sora-and everyone else on his team-tackled him. Sora was right on top of him, though. 

"Were those flowers really for me, Taichi?" Tai blushed extremely red. Sora rarely said his full name-unless he did something stupid or gotten her a really good gift. 

"Yeah…in case we won." 

The young girl blushed also, but deeper than Tai had. "We won because of you…and thank you for the flowers." 

Tai smiled to himself as he leaned upward toward Sora's waiting lips…then woke up to the sound of his mother.   
"Tai! It's time to get up!" 

Tai groaned loudly. A chance to change his future and Ken's clone had messed it up! He looked at himself in the mirror. 

__

"I don't get it! I still look like a teenager, but I'm wearing the goggles I gave to Davis! What gives?" 

"You may see yourself as a teenager, but this is four years in your past. Others see you as the impudent eleven-year-old you were in those days." 

"I was not impudent! Impatient, maybe. Reckless, okay. But not impudent." 

"What happens today?" The Digimon Emperor's face showed definite interest. 

"Originally, Sora and I are supposed to have our own 'personal' anniversary. Today marked the 11-year anniversary of our meeting. Both our birthdays passed already and I had to stay in an incubator the week of Sora's birth. That's why I saw her next to me that day in the cradle." Tai smiled as he remembered what had happened. "Things are going to be different this time. I'm making a difference." 

"Interesting. And the day after today?" 

Tai shuddered. "The day I was shot through the heart at the bank." 

"Here's my proposition: If you can manage to avoid being shot through the heart, I'll show you a present where you'll have your heart beating in your body and not some transplanted one. If not, you'll spend eternity with me. Don't worry. If you're afraid of changing the future, I assure you, nothing will happen." 

"Why am I not comforted by this?" 

Tai found a girl with red hair waiting for him by a tree, but something was different. The way he'd remembered it, she'd simply wore her hat and normal clothes. This time, she wore a red dress and not her hat. 

__

"I'm glad I ditched the goggles for today and went for the dress clothes!" Tai himself hadn't dressed normally for how he remembered the day to have gone. He was wearing an Armani suit and successfully hiding a present behind his back. 

"You look beautiful, Sora." 

The girl blushed in response to Tai's compliment. Sora rarely saw herself as beautiful. "Thank you, Tai. What's behind your back?" 

Tai shook as he revealed the box of candies. "I had to hide this from Kari and the cat and my Mom, but I did it. Here you go." 

Sora beamed radiance as she accepted the box. "Chocolates! My favorite. Oh, Tai…" 

Tai was sweating like a pig. Luckily, Sora couldn't see that. 

__

"Okay, she liked the chocolates. Now what? Do I kiss her now, or wait until later? Do 

I-"

His thoughts were interrupted as Sora's lips pressed tightly against his. He opened his eyes wide and saw a happy pair of crimson eyes gazing dreamily at his before closing in pure pleasure. Tai didn't care about changing the future, the Digital World or anything else. He didn't even care that he was technically a fourteen-year-old teenager kissing an eleven-year-old girl. All he was focused on was Sora…

Morning. Tai woke up to see…not his room. 

__

"Oh no! Is this Sora's room? Damn! Did we…?"

Tai heard happy sighing and turned to see Sora's face. Content, filled with pleasure and a sense of peace. He worriedly looked under the bed sheets and gasped as quietly as he dared. A tiny puddle was on her sheets. 

__

"I'm gonna die! If Ms. Takenouchi finds out-if my Mom and Dad find out about this-I'll die before I'm supposed to go to the Digital World!" 

"'Morning, darling DigiDestined." Tai turned to see the Digimon Emperor. 

"What now?" 

"This is a major change for your future. Originally, this didn't happen, did it? The two of you never went through love making, am I right?" The Digimon Emperor made sure to whisper every word in Tai's ear.

"No. We actually spent the day playing soccer, seeing a movie and actually helping Sora's mother with some flowers."

"There's a bright side to this: She won't give Matt those box of cookies on Christmas Eve-but she'll actually make them for her one true love…"

"Mmm…Tai?" 

Tai smiled as he focused his attention on the girl he loved. "Yes, Sora?" 

"I love you, Tai." Sora murmured in her sleep.

"I love you too, Sora. See you later." Tai whispered as he cleaned up the puddle as best he could, dressed Sora in her nightgown, got dressed and climbed out the window and safely landed on the fire escape. 

"Nice. So far, you've managed to win your game by double what you originally won by,

succeeded in your course for love and made love to your childhood crush within two days. The only thing left to change is getting shot through the heart." 

About an hour or so later, Tai found himself holding Sora's hand as tightly as he dared while his mom and her mom led them through the bank. 

"Stay together, you two. We're going to be here a while." Tai's mother advised. 

Sora blushed extremely red. "We will." 

"Definitely." Tai added. As his mom and Sora's mom headed for two separate registers, he and Sora eyed each other.

"How do you feel?" Tai asked quietly.

"Kind of the same, but kind of not, you know? Like I'm connected to you on a higher level than normally." Tai nodded. He smiled as he moved toward Sora's lips…then things were interrupted. 

"Everyone down on the floor! Do it now!" 

Tai immediately grabbed Sora and pulled her to the ground. 

"Nobody move! Lady, open the registers and don't try that dye bomb trick on us!" 

Tai held on to Sora tightly and didn't let go. "Don't worry Sora. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." 

The girl found the grace to blush as the robbers made off with the money. "Thank you, Taichi." 

That's when Tai heard the Emperor's voice next to his ear. "Congratulations." 

Tai suddenly found himself back in the present next to Ken Ichijouji. 

"Well, Tai? What's the answer? 'If one car's traveling at 60 miles an hour, and another's traveling at 30 miles an hour and pass each other after thirty minutes, how far apart did they start?'" 

"Uh…Sora?" 

Ken chuckled. "Very funny. No, the answer isn't Sora. It's-"

That's when Ken's D3 went off.   
"Tai, I've got to go. It's-an emergency at home." 

"Ken, wait! I can help. Just let me find Agu-"

"Sorry, Tai! You can't help on this one." Ken vanished a moment later.   
_"What gives? Ahh! Where's my Digivice? What the heck's going on here?" _

"This is your future with your real heart. Only problem is, you're not a DigiDestined any longer. Your mom as well as Sora's figured that it would be too dangerous for the two of you to go to summer camp, so you both stayed home and-did that love making stuff for awhile. Fortunately, you both used protection after that first time. The others not only had to find you, but your sister as well. You saved the world, but you weren't leader. Matt was. He almost led them to dire peril a numerous amount of times." Tai's mouth dropped in shock at this news. He dropped to his knees in pain. To make matters worse, he heard crying. Turning, he saw something that almost made him faint. 

"Tai, it's your turn to look after baby Kari."   
"I-I'm a father?" 

Sora smiled. Once again, she figured that he was joking. "Silly Tai. You've been a dad for about three years now. Don't you remember that night we first made love?" 

Tai blushed and instantly ran to her side. "Yeah. Can we not talk about this right now?" 

"I've got to go anyway. Can't let the soccer team down, can I? See you later, honey." A moment later, Tai was alone in the computer room with young Kari, save the Digimon Emperor. 

"I can't do this. I can't live this life. Matt as the leader? Me and Sora with a kid? Sure, Kari's a great name for a little girl-why do you think my sister has that name?-but still, I want to do what I did before in the Digital World, with Sora! I want to save her from Datamon like I was supposed to. I want to feel her love when Birdramon first Digivolved to Garudamon. I want to protect her from Mammothmon on our first day back to the Real World…even if that means I have to see Sora give those damn cookies to Matt, I'll take that risk." 

Tai found himself back in the bank with Sora at his side. The memories came back to him in a flash-exactly as he remembered them-him barely making it to the game with the bouquet, the actual day of their anniversary going the way Tai remembered it. 

"Everyone down on the floor! Do it now!" 

"Fat chance, pal!" Tai whacked the robber with a perfect right hook. Sora was instantly at his side, helping him take on the robbers. That's when one of them aimed his gun at Sora's chest.   
"SORA, LOOK OUT!" 

BLAM! 

Tai grimaced as the bullet punctured his chest. Sora instantly caught him. Tears coursed down her cheeks as his face went pale.

__

"Tai! Please speak to me! Don't leave me…" 

"His vital signs are returning to normal. He's going to be all right." Joe declared. 

Tai groaned as he opened his eyes. "Sora…?" 

The red haired girl appeared at his side a second later. "I'm here, Tai." 

Tai smiled as he grasped her hand tightly and held it firmly with his own. 

Later, he found himself observing the night skies of Odaiba outside with Kari and a sleeping Gatomon by his side. He'd explained everything that had happened to him to her.

"I felt like I was there the entire time. So it couldn't have been a dream. Was my subconscious trying to tell me something?" Kari nodded while picking up her Digimon. 

"Mm-hmm. Tell her how you feel." Tai smiled as he followed Kari inside and picked up the phone and dialed a number. 

_"Hello?" _

"Sora, it's me." 

__

"Tai…What's up?" 

"I was just wondering…if you'd like to go with me to Morealli's this Friday at 8:00 tomorrow night."

__

"Sure, Tai. I'd love to go with you." 

Sora: (sniffs) That was sweet…(cries on Tai's shoulder)

Tai: I've got to hand it to you. This is one of your finer pieces of work.

Me: Thanks. TAIORA FOREVER! 


End file.
